Disney Book Group

Horror with a bit of humor!
Thanks to NetGalley and Disney Book Group for the opportunity to read and review Murder Trending by Gretchen McNeil!
Government-sanctioned serial killers entertain citizens on The Postman app, which shows them hunting and killing convicts. A seventeen-year-old has been convicted of killing her stepsister. This teen’s name is Dee and she says she’s innocent. After the trial, Dee woke up on Alcatraz Island in a cell that reminded her of when she’d been kidnapped as an eleven-year-old. She has no recollection of the time between her trial and waking up in a cell on Alcatraz Island. The back and forth telling of the kidnapping and Alcatraz Island was difficult to follow for a while, but I kept reading and the story did get better. The characters grew on me and the unique plot and setting drew my interest. With some twists and turns and a bit of humor, #Murdertrending is entertaining, 4 stars!

Thanks to NetGalley and Disney Hyperion for the ARC and Bookish First for the hardcover copy of The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton! I absolutely loved every moment of this book! The Belles is a confection of a book with the beautifully descriptive writing of the author, Dhonielle Clayton. Based on Orleans mythology, a creation of the author, The Belles involves the world formed after the God of the Sky fell in love with the Goddess of Beauty. Together they had children. Sky became jealous of the time that Beauty spent with their children, so he cursed them with sadness and dreariness. Beauty sent the Belles to bring beauty back into the world. This tale is told with decadence and is a joy to read. Camellia becomes the Favorite and hears and sees strange things that no one will explain. Everyone wants her to ignore her pondering and just do her job as the favorite Belle; bring beauty to Orleans. The mysteries keep growing and Camellia struggles to understand Princess Sophia, what happened to her Belle sister Amber and why everyone is exceedingly secretive. Sophia’s madness becomes clear and Camellia is bound and determined to help the Queen keep Sophia from becoming the next queen of Orleans. Intriguing and suspenseful, The Belles is delightful and dangerous with characters that are good, evil and in between, 5 stars!

Thanks to NetGalley and Disney-Hyperion for the opportunity to read and review Suspect Red by L.M. Elliott! Chapter One is entitled “June 1953”; the book opens as Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are executed for giving the Soviet Union U. S. atomic bomb technology. More factual information is given: the reason for the Berlin Wall and censorship with books, before the story begins. Set in the Cold War era, Richard enjoys reading about spies and other topics that the government frowns upon at the time. His father works for the FBI and was active in the military during wartime. The story alternates between true historical moments and photographs to the fictional characters of Richard and his family and their lives. Eye-opening and relatable, the timeline of the fictional story flows with Cold War history as it is laid out. It’s crazy how much one person affected an entire nation in such a negative way. Suspect Red is an interesting, entertaining way to gain knowledge about the state of our nation during the Cold War, 5 stars!

Thanks to NetGalley and Disney-Hyperion for the opportunity to read and review Rosemarked by Livia Blackburne! Zivah has been an apprentice for years and now she’s a healer because she has passed the required test. Rose plague has broken out and Zivah is helping the other healers take care of the ailing patients. Dineas has suffered through the rose plague, healed, recovered and developed brown splotches and has been labeled as umbertouched. They meet under wary circumstances but become allies. The storyline becomes complicated but the author describes everything perfectly, which erases all confusion. I enjoy Dineas’ humor and personality and Zivah’s perseverance and outlook on life. Wonderful characters and an ending that leaves me anticipating the sequel make a 5-star fantasy adventure!

*I received a complimentary copy of this book for voluntary consideration.

Thanks to NetGalley and Disney Book Groups for the opportunity to read and review Follow Me by Sara Shepard! The story begins with Brett and his prospects and then alternates with each of the main characters from the first book, Amateurs. Seneca is an intern handing out parking tickets, Maddox is still working on his running and wants to go to the Olympics, Aerin took a vacation and Madison is enjoying life, as she always does. Madison brings a letter to Maddox at the gym and they’re floored when they find out who it’s from and what it’s about. The Case Not Closed group is back again! The mystery, suspense and thrills are back in this sequel and so are the twists! 5 stars for another great mystery by Sara Shepard!

Thanks to NetGalley and Disney-Hyperion for the opportunity to read and review A List of Cages by Robin Roe! Julian doesn’t feel as though he belongs anywhere, at school or at home where he lives with his uncle. He likes to hide in a small secret room behind the school stage where he can be alone and no one knows where he is. I immediately felt protective of Julian and hated how people assumed that he was stupid and treated him horribly. He’s had a tragic past and he’s presently living in an unhappy world. Adam knows Julian because his family fostered him for a while after the death of his parents until Julian’s Uncle Russell stepped into their lives and took Julian away. Uncle Russell is a force to be reckoned with and has more issues than anyone realizes. This tragic and touching realistic fiction story earns 5 stars!

Thanks to NetGalley and Disney Book Group for the opportunity to read and review Midnight at Madame Leota’s (Tales from the Haunted Mansion #2) by Amicus Arcane. The disclaimer of the ARC is even written in Haunted Mansion-ese, clever and sets the spooky stage from the beginning. This book tells the tale of William and his visit with Madame Leota and contains several stories within a story. William wants to talk to his deceased sister, but has to listen as librarian Arcane reads spooky tales to him first. The first tale is about a truly haunted house attraction at a traveling carnival. The second is the history of a vampire resident of the Haunted Mansion. Third is a spooky horror story about a man losing his beloved theatre and the last story tells a young girl’s tale and how she came to be at the Haunted Mansion. Finally, William meets Madame Leota and gets what he’s been asking for. Fun and spooky. 5 stars for this creepy addition to the Haunted Mansion volumes!

Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to NetGalley and Disney Book Group for the opportunity to read and review The Takedown by Corrie Wang! The Takedown is a futuristic realistic fiction story dealing with the overwhelming use of social media and all of the issues that go along with it. Kyla is in the popular clique of the prep school she attends until someone shares a video on social media of Kyla being intimate with a teacher. The story is all about her innocence and trying to figure out who did the posting. She wants to get to the source and get rid of the video that has potentially scarred her reputation and future permanently. The story also involves forgiveness and introspection. 4.5 stars for the ability to give readers food for thought and for making it about a topic most people are interested in these days.

Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Thanks to NetGalley, Disney Book Group and Marvel Press for the opportunity to read and review Black Widow: Forever Red by Margaret Stohl. This first book in the Black Widow series by Margaret Stohl brings to light Natasha Romanoff’s background, which was a lot darker than I would have guessed. Many surprises await as the story unfolds with heroines and heroes. I enjoyed the Russian dialogue and translations, as well as the humor that goes along with Marvel Avengers. A fun read for anyone wanting adventure with a touch of super hero added – 4 stars!